76. Legal accountability and psychological health intervention pathways for the expansion of suicidal behavior in patients with depression

Abstract Background Depression, as a common mental illness, is characterized by symptoms such as low mood, slow thinking, and decreased interest. Severe depression patients are at risk of suicidal ideation. The suicidal behavior of depression patients is a serious social security issue. The expansion of suicide includes suicide contagion or suicide imitation, which not only has a profound impact on individuals and families, but also poses a threat to social order and public safety. At the same time, with the development of Internet technology, suicidal behaviors of patients with depression have expanded. However, there is a certain degree of ambiguity in the current laws regarding the attribution of expanded acts of suicide. In most cases, it is difficult for the law to attribute responsibility to the act of suicide itself. The purpose of the study is to explore the influencing factors of suicide risk in patients with depression and provide guidance for the current relevant legal construction. Methods The study focused on 139 patients diagnosed with depression at a mental health center in a certain city from May 2022 to April 2025. The study distributed questionnaires to participants and analyzed their depression symptoms and suicide risk using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Brief Version of Borderline Symptom List (BSL-23), and the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSSRS). After completing the statistics, use SPSS software for independent sample testing and regression analysis. Results The experimental results showed that the average score of depression patients on the PHQ-9 scale was 19.78 points, with a standard deviation of 5.25 points. The data shows that the overall depression symptoms of patients are moderate to severe. The average score of participants on the borderline personality trait scale is 46.53 points, with a standard deviation of 23.53 points, indicating that the overall level of self acceptance in patients with depression is in a moderate state. Meanwhile, the suicidal ideation of patients with depression is positively correlated with the severity of depression, with a correlation coefficient of 0.52 and a significance level of p<.05. The positive correlation coefficient between suicidal ideation and borderline personality traits is 0.24, with a significance level of p<.05. In addition, there was a significant negative correlation between suicidal ideation and self acceptance dimensions in patients with depression, with a correlation coefficient of -0.21 and a significance level of p<.05. Discussion The experimental results indicate that suicidal ideation in depression is directly proportional to the severity of depression and inversely proportional to the degree of self acceptance. Research suggests that in addition to establishing a suicide crisis intervention mechanism and providing emergency intervention for patients with suicidal tendencies, it is also necessary to strengthen legal accountability, improve legislation related to suicide participation, regulate excessive exaggeration in online media, and reduce the imitation and expansion of suicidal behavior. The limitation of the study is that the survey subjects are limited to a single area. In future research, expand the survey subjects in different regions and analyze differentiated intervention pathways in different cultural, social, and legal environments.